The contributions of conservation agriculture towards food security in Zaka District

Abstract

Conservation agriculture has been promoted and implemented as solution to enhance crop productivity, which in turn leads to food security and as a poverty alleviation mechanism among communal farmers in Zimbabwe, Zaka district in particular. Primarily this research is focusing on assessing the contributions of CA towards food security in the whole of Zaka district. This research presented CA as a multifaceted solution to food insecurity problem in Zaka District. Quantitative research method is employed in this research. Reviewed empirical literatures have shown that, despites its documented paybacks, the adoption trends of conservation agriculture by communal farmers have hick ups but from 2009 to date adoption trends reached a constant level even the adoption rate is still low. Full success of CA in promoting food security in Zaka is threatened by a plethora of factors, the major one being financial challenges to access sophisticated CA inputs that may limit labor intensiveness associated with the technology as shall explained in chapter 4. However, findings of the study have shown that CA beneficial contributions in the district outweighs its challenges. Food security is multidimensional phenomenon which can only be achieved by fulfilling its complex aspects which are food availability, access, stability and affordability of safe healthy nutritious food.CA improved yields in the district by 50 to100% with other CA plot harvesting more than the expected 250 kilograms per 0,25ha.